Rising Stars: Meet Laura Lockton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Lockton.

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2007, I was looking for a way to expand my river resort business that would also promote green living, which I was passionate about. So I started producing conscious festivals with a focus on sustainability and performing arts, making biodiesel to run our busses, and teaching people about the green improvements we had done. It was wonderful and inspirational, but eventually, I decided I wanted to move back to Kansas City and bring conscious events to the community here. I decided to take a few years off to solidify a strategy for curating events that make a positive impact on people’s lives.

In the meantime, I went through a difficult divorce and became the most unhealthy and unhappy I’ve ever been. I felt lost and wasn’t sure what path I wanted my life to take. I knew I needed something to pull me up from the low that I had reached, something that would help me get healthy and happy again. Several of my friends had been telling me I should learn aerial arts because it seemed like it was natural for me, given my gymnastics, dance, and yoga background.

My friend Tree Sa, who ran Sacred Circus, told me that if I could learn an aerial hoop routine, I could perform with them at a big event where the band I had been listening to for inspiration was playing. I had only been on the Lyra once, and I only had 6 weeks until the show. I honestly didn’t really believe I could do it, but I knew it would be good for me whether I ended up performing or not. So I had a new goal! I practiced every morning and sometimes at night, and Tree said she felt confident about me joining the troupe. I was so nervous before I got up in front of 2500 people, but I did it, and it was incredibly empowering and uplifting!

At the same event, several people told me that our previous events had changed their lives. A former teacher and performer who we had hired for our festivals told me, “If it weren’t for your events, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I love my life!” That’s when I decided that I was ready to bring that kind of inspiration to more people. I founded ReKinection in 2017 as a way to combine my event production experience, my love for yoga, aerial & fire dancing, and my mission to empower people to be the best versions of themselves.

We are a collaboration of artists, performers, teachers, and event planners conspiring to inspire people through retreats, festivals, performances, and classes.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My dad once told me that owning a business sometimes feels like you’re solving problems all the time, and in 2020 that was especially true! The business shutdown happened 3 weeks before the date of our festival, so we had to rush to reschedule. We couldn’t book our original venue near Kansas City for the fall, but our headlining musicians didn’t want to reschedule to 2021. I was devastated and tempted to give up, but I kept trying.

Thankfully, I had known the owner of our favorite festival venue Astral Valley for 10 years, and she was ready to collaborate with us after a short conversation! So we essentially replanned the festival – we reconfirmed hundreds of people, replaced some that couldn’t make it, changed plans to fit the new venue, refunded tickets… and then we postponed the event again. And replanned it again. In the end, our business grew, and the extra planning time gave us an opportunity to upgrade and create an even more inspirational event than it would have been in April 2020.

Our motto last year was “We’re finding the silver linings.” I had begun to build a team and a community that truly cared about what we were doing. We found several ways to stay connected, expand upon the foundation we had built, and help a lot of people who were out of work! The first thing we did was organize a virtual festival the weekend that our festival was supposed to be. Lots of musicians, teachers, and artists had messaged me saying they still wanted to share their talents online, so we decided to organize it. As soon as we announced it, we got messages from enough people to fill 3 days & evenings with activities!

We had yoga, performing arts classes, holistic health workshops, music, an art show, aerial & fire dancers, and more. More than 45 people who were out of work received some income from donations at a time when they really needed it! We also started the “Starving Artists, Gig Workers & Healers Relief Fund”. We donated a percentage of every festival ticket purchased, gave people the option to donate a portion of their ticket refund, and hosted events that encouraged people to donate. The fund allowed us to send assistance to 10 more people who were unable to afford their basic needs.

The other really meaningful thing we did while the pandemic was still preventing us from gathering in groups was offering socially distant shows at people’s homes. We performed more than 50 fire dancing and circus shows from December through March. Over the holidays, we would sometimes perform at three different houses in a row. It was very different from the large events we’re used to, but we were so grateful to be able to bring some light and joy to people’s celebrations!

Overall, last year taught us how to get creative and find more ways to collaborate with other artists & performers in ways that support each other and lift each other up! As a result, our community & business grew, and our team is stronger.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an aerial-fire-dance performer & teacher, RYT200 yoga teacher, certified AIReal yoga teacher, conscious event producer, and founder of the transformational and educational event company ReKinection. I’m also trained in Reiki energy healing & several other healing modalities. I think what’s most unique about me & ReKinection is the way we’ve combined these skills and other people’s skills to create a company that has many ways to achieve our mission to inspire people to be healthy and happy.

I’ve found that both for myself and others, aerial arts, yoga, flow arts/fire dancing, and these types of meditative body movement have profound benefits beyond physical health. It is this holistic healing that creates joy, confidence, and balance that fuels my passion and is the reason it’s the main focus of ReKinection. But I know that there are other things that inspire other people and give them the tools they need to be their best. That’s why we host retreats, workshops, and large gatherings with a wide variety of activities.

The ReKinection Festival has more than 50 activities & workshops, more than 50 music sets, and seven unique stages & areas for people to gather to connect, discuss, craft, learn and play! This allows people to find the activities that call to them. There’s nothing quite like it in the Midwest.

Our traveling group brings this enlightenment, education, and entertainment to other people’s events through aerial-fire-dance shows, a Creation Station & workshops that offer a holistic approach to health, well-being & creativity. Because we produce our own festivals, we can also bring infrastructure & equipment that events need. We have event tents, a dome, sound system, decorations, and can even bring an entire turn-key conscious stage, which is really convenient for event producers and helps us reach more people.

This year, we also started hosting destination retreats focused on yoga & breathwork as a way to give people a more in-depth and transformational experience. We have week-long journeys planned in the Redwoods and Costa Rica that we’re very excited about!

My most proud moments are when people tell me that the work we do has changed their lives in positive ways. It’s what keeps me going! Starting this business has been tons of work. Even just continuing to stay in shape to be able to perform at my age is hard, and I do so many other things too. But knowing the impact that we’ve had makes it all worth it.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Kansas City is my hometown and always will be! I moved back here because I was drawn to the friendly, collaborative community we have here. In the performing arts & event production industries, there can be a lot of competitive and sometimes even harmful behavior. From what I’ve seen, it seems like the community that a person lives in makes a big difference in their attitude and how they treat others.

Kansas City seems to have a very high percentage of community-oriented people who love to collaborate with each other in ways that lift each other up, and I love that!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.rekinection.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rekinection/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReKinection
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMLBDDJk7pXkSiTEoU2d1BA
• Other: rekinection.space

Image Credits:
C MAC Photography Solea Photography